The incident occurred at approximately 7:45 a.m. Wednesday, the bureau said. The worker fell into the water, apparently while transferring from a vessel to the platform.

Other crew members were able to get the worker back on the platform, but shortly thereafter he became unresponsive and was subsequently pronounced dead.

BOEMRE inspectors flew to the scene immediately following the initial response to begin the investigation. We will continue to work with the U.S. Coast Guard to investigate this incident.

"This was a tragic accident, and our thoughts are with the family of the deceased employee, as well as his colleagues and other Apache personnel," BOEMRE Director Michael R. Bromwich said in a statement. "This tragic accident underscores why we are continuing to work with the industry to ensure the highest safety standards on offshore facilities."